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While these numbers in this example may be correct, the poll itself is not representative of all members of the district. Readers of this particular newspaper only constitute a small, specific portion of the population that might have a different position on the debate. By and large, internet polls are NOT quality sources to use in a respectable debate.
Example: I'm shocked to learn that 50% of American students perform at or below the national average on this test!
While the number itself is obviously accurate, the statistic is framed as if it's shocking. The framing is deceptive and leads to a faulty interpretation of the statistic.
Example: PHS students are really lazy. Did you know that 40% of their absences occur when those absences extend weekends by one day (on either a Monday or a Friday)?
Again, the framing of the number is at fault for the faulty interpretation of this statistic. If students were absent randomly, they would have a 20% chance of being absent on any given day of the week. Since being absent on both a Monday or a Friday would extend a weekend by one day, it stands to reason that, even in random circumstances, 40% of absences would extend weekends by one day. Nobody should be shocked by this.
Example: Mr. Spagnolo threw out his back turning on his vacuum; therefore, vacuuming is an extremely dangerous activity.
While the unfortunate back-throwing-out incident is true, it is only one incident and could be attributed to 1,000 other factors (namely the huge bench-pressing and squat session I completed five minutes before deciding to vacuum). This is an over-generalization and the inherent dangers of vacuuming cannot be determined from a sample size of only one incident.
Example: Don't you know that the life expectancy of people in the USA has risen from approximately 48 years old in 1900 to over 78 years old in 2010! That means that people who used to only live to be 48 years old now live to be 78!
(Actually, while we might live a few years longer than we did in 1900, a significant change is the fact that the infant mortality rate is now much lower than it was in 1900. Removing most of the "0"s and "1"s from the average calculation will significantly raise the average.)
Example: An article titled: "Hidden Camera Proves the True Nature of Pit Bulls. Must See." was accompanied by this video:
Statistics can be misleading for a number of reasons. They could be derived from an insufficient sample size, but they could also be taken from irrelevant sample populations. Also, they could be misleading because of the way in which the numbers are presented.
Whenever statistics are presented, ask:
Who is presenting those numbers and is there any reason this person might be trying to mislead?
What is the source of the statistics being used? Is that source reliable or biased?
Are the statistics being presented relevant and do they prove what they are intending to prove?
Do they make sense? Are they understandable?
Example: 100% of people who smoke die. Smoking kills. Don't smoke.
True. But this claim implies that smoking causes all of these deaths. According to the World Health Organization, "tobbacco kills up to half of its users."
Example:
Is that really any different than claiming that THIS VIDEO defines all cats or THIS MAN'S ACTIONS are reflective of the actions of all people from Wisconsin?
Example:
Misleading Statistics can also come in the form of visual "aides"...
source: mediamatters.org
The numbers listed in this example were accurate (though 7.1 million did sign up by the March 31 deadline); however, the visual representation of those numbers is not-to-scale and misrepresents a 6/7 ratio.
Example:
Here's another.
Source: Buzzfeed
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